“We find a lot of weekends that you would have seen one wedding per venue, places that try to double-book and spread out into the week,” she said. “I have also seen that leisure visitors have extended their stays into the week, as the average daily price is high, especially on the weekends. People can get a cheaper hotel room during the week. ”
Many hotels were unable to open all of their rooms due to staffing levels – especially during the week – Cacatian said. The occupancy rate for October 2019 was 78.2%.
“It’s not a lack of demand that is why you see these high average daily rates because the demand is definitely there,” she said. “At the moment there is only a lack of offers due to the labor shortage.”
Because of the “makeup and wealth” of the people of Charlottesville and Albemarle Counties, Cronberg said it was already difficult to find staff before the pandemic.
“It’s definitely incredibly challenging now, just from my point of view,” he said. “At the beginning of September we had 97 vacancies at the resort. Usually we fluctuate 15 to 20 up and down every year. “
When he started in 2017, he said cleaning staff was making $ 8.50 an hour. These positions are now up to $ 17 an hour.
“I’m so glad we’re at the point where they are getting better wages for them and their families,” said Cronberg. “But I also know that we as operators and our employees, especially our sales-generating employees, have to continue to push for our total income in order to be able to continue to pay these wage increases. That is the challenge that lies ahead of us. “
